In the Canadian Pat. No. 115,334, issued Nov. 10, 1908 to Clement and Vogue, there is disclosed a closed ash scoop having the general goal of removing ashes from a stove in a dust-free manner. This scoop is closable by the engagement of the door wings 16 thereinto and, thus, the pivoting of downwardly-hinged door 8 under the action of an inner rod 10 (FIGS. 1 and 2). Rod 10 is actuated by the vertical swinging movement of the outwardly-projecting frame 12 and handle 13 which rotates the shaft 7, which moves fore and aft the crank arm 9, to which is connected rod 10.
Major drawbacks appear in the above patent to the knowledgeable person.
Since rod 10, crank arm 9, shaft 7, and wings 16 are all movable parts within the scoop, it can be expected that their operation will become less and less efficient with time, because of ashes that will progressively clog same. It is not a good principle to have the closing mechanism of the scoop door within the scoop. The same problem will occur at the level of the bottom hinges of door 8, since ashes will progressively clog same and prevent pivoting of the door. Furthermore, ashes will find their way through this hinge member, as well as through the apertures 3A through which the outer frame 12 connects with the shaft 7. And because one needs to swing handle 13 above the scoop casing 1 to close the door 8, closing that door inside the ash-pit is not possible, thereby constituting a dirty operation, since that has to be done after removing the open scoop from the stove.
In the Canadian Pat. No. 211,532, issued May 17, 1921 to Gehrmann, the ash-pan is designed to fit permanently in the stove for collection of ashes, and be removable when full. The rod 11 of the ash-pan will operate a top cover 12, 13, not a side door. Apparently, ashes could engage the pan through hinged ends 3 and 4, but these have to be operated by hand. In any event, collecting ashes into and removing same from the ash-pan remains a dirty operation. Rod 11 still is within the ash-pan, thus clog-prone.
The U.S. Pat. No. 2,800,892, issued July 30, 1957 to Gontaro, refers to a receptacle to fit in an incinerator to collect ashes, as in Gehrmann, not to a shovel. The cover 13 and hinged plate 25 are both on the top wall of the receptacle.